B Vitamins?

[Edward]

Is there a need to top up b vitamins as well as electrolytes with kava? I thought alcohol depleted b vitamins anyway but maybe that's all diuretics that would have that effect just because b vitamins are water soluble and would be excreted in your extra urine? I've not been thinking about b vitamins and could explain some of the sluggishness I sometimes feel?

 

[Sam Handwich]

I'd love to know this too, I just purchased a bottle of B complex vitamins today but wasn't thinking about kava. Ive just learned that I should be taking B vitamins because I take omeprazole for heartburn. If it's also good for kava users, all the better.

 

[Jerome]

Beef liver. Loaded with B vitamins. And a whole slew of other important nutrients. Eat it a couple times per week and you'll feel like a stallion!

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

That's part of paleo right @Jerome ?
B vitamins also help the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose to be used for energy which essentially means if your body doesn't have b vitamins it will store it as fat for later automatically and you will feel sluggish even if you eat energy rich foods.

 

[Jerome]

That's part of paleo right @Jerome ?
B vitamins also help the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose to be used for energy which essentially means if your body doesn't have b vitamins it will store it as fat for later automatically and you will feel sluggish even if you eat energy rich foods.

Well yes, it's on the paleo lists. But I just love liver. Tasty stuff.

 

[Edward]

http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/the-best-way-to-cook-liver.7192/

Never tried beef liver though...

 

[nabanga]

Hmm.. liver.. - just had some for lunch in a noodle soup.
We used to get given it for school lunches in the UK in the 70's, with huge rubbery arteries inside and I've liked it every since, but not so much the arteries.

I find that often when I have a medical check up my iron is down on the slight anaemic side, despite eating lots of greens and red meat. Always wondered if kava somehow 'leached' iron out of the system? Not that I would cut down if a link between kava and low blood iron was proved.

 

[Muddy]

...I take omeprazole for heartburn. If it's also good for kava users, all the better.

I was on PPI for over a year and got off them after reading Norman Robillard's book Fast Tract Digestion. I can't recommend that book enough.

 

[Sam Handwich]

I was on PPI for over a year and got off them after reading Norman Robillard's book Fast Tract Digestion. I can't recommend that book enough.

I've been on it for 8 years and very much want off. I've tried cold turkey (very bad idea!) and tapering but the heartburn always comes back with a vengeance. I have not read the book you sugest, but will. I have read several other diet based heartburn prevention books and like what they have to say. The problem is my wife and daughter are completely addicted to carbs, pasta, bread, candy, all things that are no-no's on the heartburn diets. I would be on my own with any special diet but I may have to do just that.

 

[Jerome]

I've been on it for 8 years and very much want off. I've tried cold turkey (very bad idea!) and tapering but the heartburn always comes back with a vengeance. I have not read the book you sugest, but will. I have read several other diet based heartburn prevention books and like what they have to say. The problem is my wife and daughter are completely addicted to carbs, pasta, bread, candy, all things that are no-no's on the heartburn diets. I would be on my own with any special diet but I may have to do just that.

I had to change up my diet pretty intensively after suffering with severe heart burn for around a year.

It took a long time, but I think I have it mostly figured out and haven't had nearly the problems I had before. There are a lot of nasty side effects with those heart burn medications. If you can beat it with diet, I believe its worth it. For me, lower carb, a lot less alcohol, no cooked tomatoes, and I can't eat nearly as many eggs as I'd like. That and intermittent fasting helped a lot. Skipping a day of eating (24 hours, dinner to dinner) seemed to reset my system. That and don't sit down! Posture makes a big difference.

I'll still get it if I have prolonged stress, but still not nearly as bad as I had it.

 

[Jerome]

There's a handy chart on this website showing the b vitamin content in beef liver. It compares it with apples, carrots, and regular beef muscle tissue.

http://chriskresser.com/natures-most-potent-superfood/

 

[Muddy]

I've been on it for 8 years and very much want off. I've tried cold turkey (very bad idea!) and tapering but the heartburn always comes back with a vengeance. I have not read the book you sugest, but will. I have read several other diet based heartburn prevention books and like what they have to say. The problem is my wife and daughter are completely addicted to carbs, pasta, bread, candy, all things that are no-no's on the heartburn diets. I would be on my own with any special diet but I may have to do just that.

That's a long time. I'm confident that if you follow his suggestions you can come off the PPIs. I was fearful at first, but it was much easier than I anticipated using his methods. I'd tried a lot of different remedies, but changing to food with a low fermentation potential worked beautifully. Good luck and keep us updated.
Sorry Edward, we've gone a bit OT.

 

[Muddy]

I had to change up my diet pretty intensively after suffering with severe heart burn for around a year.

For me, lower carb, a lot less alcohol, no cooked tomatoes, and I can't eat nearly as many eggs as I'd like. That and intermittent fasting helped a lot. Skipping a day of eating (24 hours, dinner to dinner) seemed to reset my system.

Yep, either carbs with low fermentation potential or just low carb and the ketogenic route works to. I've stayed GERD free using both methods.

 

[Jerome]

Yep, either carbs with low fermentation potential or just low carb and the ketogenic route works to. I've stayed GERD free using both methods.

Added benefit was losing my gut!

 

[Edward]

@Muddy no worries, the tangents are usually better than the original thread

 

[kavadude]

I supplement B vitamins for other reasons and I've never felt like taking them or not taking them helped with kava side effects. I've never seen anything in the research (other than a paper about possible niacin deficiency which concluded that it did not cause niacin deficiency). On the other hand, buying a b vitamin supplement isn't expensive, so I guess you could try.

 

[verticity]

Don't overdo it with niacin (B3) though. It can cause elevated liver enzymes, and possibly even liver failure:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin#Gastrointestinal_and_hepatic
Apparently this problem is worse with the "extended release" form (niacinamide -- the kind that does not cause the flush reaction) than with regular niacin (the kind that temporarily turns you into a cooked lobster)

 

[verticity]

If you are feeling sluggish, you can ask your doctor to check levels of vitamin D, B6, B12, Folate, Iron, Iodine, Selenium, and probably others, and also to test your thyroid (T4 test) and red blood cell count (to test for anemia). There are lots of things that could cause that feeling, not just lack of B vitamins.

 

[Groggy]

I take a Nutrilite multi vitamin daily that has all the B vitamins + others, a extended release C, Beta Carotene and an Omega 3, it's 4 separate pills I swallow every morning with my yerba, I have always taken this even before kava.

 

[Sam Handwich]

Thanks for the sugestions @Muddy and @Jerome. I am going to give the diet change a serious go soon. Just ordered Fast Track Digestion and will add it to the research I have already done. I am fully convinced that my heartburn has more to do with stress and anxiety management than diet but I will give the diet a go. Sorry for the derailment Edward!